The Bose SoundLink Colour Bluetooth speaker is a great buy at $139.99CAD. Bose

It’s kind of a funny thing when it comes to reviewing Bose products of any kind. They simply don’t put their name on anything that isn’t of a real high quality, so when I first saw the Bose SoundLink Colour Bluetooth Speaker listed at a suggested retail of $139.99 I was a bit worried. Usually Bose stuff is priced higher than that.

But for under a hundred and forty bucks you get a little Bluetooth speaker that easily connects to your smartphone, offers an 8-hour battery life and has fantastic sound quality. All that in a package that’s only 13.4 cm H x 12.8 cm W x 5.3 cm D and weighs .57kg.

It comes in five vibrant colours: blue, red, black, white and mint. This is a departure from the past few years for Bose, whose products have all had a polished, professional look about them. I like the new colours being used – I think it makes their gear more appealing to a younger market – which Im sure is the reason for the addition of all this colour.

The Bose SoundLink Colour Bluetooth speaker is small but packs a wallop. Bose

The SoundLink Colour uses voice prompts to guide you through the Bluetooth setup process; the first step being to choose your language of choice, It’s kinda funky to be guided through the process by a voice speaking your language, so the setup goes from being really simple using a manual to dead simple following instructions. It’ll remember up to eight of the most recent Bluetooth devices you pair it with, and can even connect two devices at the same time, although you still need to switch between the two of them so that when one stops, you can start the other.

The speaker itself is very thoughtfully made, with the controls for volume, power, Bluetooth and source all on the top and an auxiliary-in port and the Micro USB plug for recharging on the side. You control volume, track selection etc. from your smart device,

The SoundLink Colour doesn’t function as a speakerphone – it’s a dedicated speaker, which might be a problem for some folks. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve needed and used a speakerphone in the past three years, so that certainly isn’t an issue for me.

The design of the speaker is quite functional. It’s made of plastic with a rubberized panel on the top and one down each side. Some folks might not like the fit and finish of this speaker, but to me it’s a great shape and feels perfect when carrying it in my hand. It’s also small enough to easily shove into my backpack and the plastic cover doesn’t show fingerprints or scratches. Plastic cover or not, the SoundLink Colour is very solidly made, which becomes instantly apparent the first time you play music on it.

I tend to prefer a bassy sound, but I like to be able to hear all the music, so there needs to be clarity on all levels to keep me happy. The SoundLink Colour has the bassy sound I like, while at the same time the mid and high ranges also sound clear and vibrant. I just played my new favourite song on it “Fireball,” with the speaker cranked up all the way.

If Pitbull sounds good through this speak system, then depth of the sound is quite amazing for such a little device. There was a bit of fuzz when I cranked it right to the top, but I rarely listen to music with the volume at ten, so just turning it down a bit cleaned everything up and was still satisfying.

As I listen to this SoundLink Colour I can’t help but be amazed that you can get this kind of sound quality out of a $139.99 speaker. It’s truly a surprise. Although, as I mentioned before, the Bose name the device should have already been an indicator.

I just don’t think that at this point in time you can find a better Bluetooth speaker for the price than this one. It’s very portable, light, tough and also has great sound – this is the portable Bluetooth speaker to beat.

9/10

TO SUM IT UP: If you’re on the hunt for an affordable, but still great portable Bluetooth speaker, then spend $139.99 and get yourself one of these Bose SoundLink Colour portable Bluetooth speakers. Great value, great sound, durably built with decent battery life – not much else you can ask for.